seldom
English edit
Alternative forms edit
- seldome (obsolete)
Etymology edit
From late Middle English seldom, alteration of earlier selden, from Old English seldan (“seldom”), from Proto-Germanic *seldanē. Cognate with Saterland Frisian säilden (“seldom”), West Frisian selden, komselden (“rare, seldom”), Dutch zelden, German selten, Danish sjælden, Norwegian sjelden, Swedish sällan, Faroese sjáldan, Icelandic sjaldan. More at seld and selly.
Pronunciation edit
Adverb edit
seldom (comparative more seldom or seldomer, superlative most seldom or seldomest)
- Infrequently, rarely.
- Synonyms: barely, hardly, rarely, scarcely, infrequently, seldomly; see also Thesaurus:rarely
- Antonyms: often, frequently; see also Thesaurus:often
- They seldom come here now.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
- I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed.
- 2013 April 9, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff.”, in New York Times[1]:
- People who talk about an imminent possibility of war seldom pose this question: What would North Korea’s leadership get from unleashing a war that they are likely to lose in weeks, if not days?
- 2013 June 1, “End of the peer show”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 71:
- Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend.
Usage notes edit
- It is grammatically a negative word. It therefore collocates with ever rather than never. Compare he seldom ever plays tennis with he almost never plays tennis.
- The form seldomly, derived from the (now archaic) adjectival use, exists, but has not gained widespread acceptance.
Derived terms edit
- barking dogs seldom bite, a barking dog seldom bites
- opportunity seldom knocks twice
- seldom or ever
- seldomtimes
- unseldom
Translations edit
infrequently, rarely
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Adjective edit
seldom (comparative more seldom or seldomer, superlative most seldom or seldomest)
- (archaic) Rare; infrequent.
- Synonyms: geason, uncommon; see also Thesaurus:rare
- 1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC:
- a suppressed and seldom anger
- 1850, Vignaud Pamphlets: Sir Isaac Newton, page 513:
- He was very curious in his garden, which was never out of order; in which he would at seldom times take a short walk or two, not enduring to see a weed in it.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
Anagrams edit
Middle English edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Old English seldan.
Adverb edit
seldom
- Alternative form of selden (“seldom”)
Etymology 2 edit
From Old English selden.
Adjective edit
seldom
- Alternative form of selden (“uncommon”)